Microsoft Launches PC vs. Mac Website

Remember Apple's "Get A Mac" ads? They featured Justin Long as a Mac, and John Hodgman as a PC. Throughout a variety of 30-second spots, Mac demonstrated his superiority over fussy, buggy, increasingly frustrated PC:



During the late and unlamented Windows Vista era, those ads forced Microsoft on the defensive; not until the economic recession compelled PC buyers to give serious thought to cheaper devices (allowing Microsoft to score points with a series of ads emphasizing PCs' ostensible cost-effectiveness), and Windows 7 negated many of the arguments about buggy Microsoft operating systems, did Redmond seem to find its public footing again. The last few "Get A Mac" ads, one of which tried to launch a broadside at Windows 7, were also the series' weakest:



Now Microsoft's reviving that old rivalry somewhat, with its PC vs. Mac Website. Some of the information presented here is accurate: Windows PCs really do have more gaming options than Macs, and there are some security advantages.

In other areas, however, Microsoft's arguments are more subjective. "While some may say Macs are easy, the reality is that they can come with a learning curve," insists one section. "PCs running Windows 7 look and work more like the computers you're familiar with, so you can get up and running quickly."

There are obvious differences between the respective user interfaces of Mac OS X and Windows 7, but anyone who uses one can learn the other fairly quickly. Does it take time? Sure. But I've also known technologically inept individuals who, having spent their working lives on Windows machines, were able to make the leap to Mac versatility in an afternoon. I use both operating systems, often side by side, for hours a day; the differences aren't even close to insurmountably vast.

That aside, Microsoft shoots itself in the foot when it comes to the Website's Compatibility section. "Apple's productivity suite file formats won't open in Microsoft Office on PCs," this part claims. "This can be a real hassle for Mac users sharing work documents with PC users."

I suppose that was true a decade ago. And maybe iWork has some compatibility issues, despite Apple's insistence to the contrary, but I also don't know a single Mac user who relies on it; everyone in that category uses either Office for Mac or Google Docs. By suggesting that documents created on a Mac are incompatible with a PC, Microsoft seems to be implicitly denigrating its own work in creating Apple software--but given how the company stands to profit more if someone purchases a Windows 7-equipped PC, as opposed to a Mac running Office, I'm sure that position was regarded as the lesser of two corporate evils.

In its public-facing communications, Microsoft likes to emphasize how consumers have a choice. For its part, Apple has a Webpage where it touts the benefits of Macs over PCs. Either way, I'm happy to see the discourse between the two companies has elevated itself above a kindergarten level.

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